After a frustrating loss to Cincinnati yesterday at PNC Arena, The Wolfpack need to bounce back desperately on Saturday when Pittsburgh comes to Raleigh. NC State is currently 1-0 in The ACC with a 78-65 win over Wake Forest at home back on December 6th. NC State lost of couple of games that they would love to have back such as losses to Wofford, Purdue, West Virginia and Cincinnati. Wofford and Cincinnati hurt the most because those losses could come back and haunt State if they are on the bubble for The NCAA Tournament. Purdue and West Virginia are respectable teams as I think West Virginia is one of the top teams in the country. The way Bob Huggins rotates 11 players throughout the game and the pressure they apply on their press, West Virginia is a team to keep an eye on in March to make a late run in the tournament.
NC State will host Pittsburgh this Saturday at 12:00 PM. Pittsburgh is 10-3 on the season with loses to Hawaii, San Diego State and Indiana. Pitt returns Raleigh native guard Josh Newkirk alongside guard James Robinson and one time NC State commit Joseph Uchebo. NC State split with Pitt last year after losing a 17 point first half lead in Raleigh but winning up at Pitt thanks to TJ Warren’s 41 points. This should be a good game but I expect NC State to come out on top. State needs some momentum and this can be the game where it all starts with Virginia, Duke and North Carolina to follow.
The Pack will then travel to Charlottesville, Virginia on January 7th to face The Cavaliers. This will be a challenge for State since Virginia is currently ranked the #3 in the country. Malcolm Brogdon, London Perrantes, Justin Anderson, Anthony Gill and Mike Tobey are big time players for Virginia. Personally I think Brogdon is as good as they come at guards in college basketball. Tobey is a highly underrated post players who can use both hands and Anderson is a athletic freak. Anderson can also shoot the ball from deep as he is currently shooting around 58% from three on the season which makes him a real NBA prospect. Anthony Gill is also a solid player for them who can step outside from the post and knock down jump shots. Hopefully NC State can give them a good game but with the way Virginia is playing right now they’re going to be hard to beat.
The Blue Devils will then travel to Raleigh on January 11th at 1:30 PM. Duke is currently rated the #2 team in the country as their record is 11-0. This Duke team might be one of the best teams Coach K has had of lately as they are loaded with talent. Jahlil Okafor is the big time player for Duke as he is arguably the best college basketball player in the country. After watching him a good amount this season I think he is the top player in the land. Okafor is the overall consenus to be the number one pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. He is dominate down low in the post which means BeeJay Anya will need to play a good game to limit Okafor’s presence in the game. Duke’s other freshmen are the real deal with wing Justice Winslow and guard Tyus Jones. These two freshman can play also as it has shown in their past games. Duke will be a hard team to be but you never know with NC State. My freshman year two years ago NC State pulled off the upset in PNC Arena as they gave Duke their first lost for the season. I hope The Pack can play well but Duke is a hard team to beat at Cameron or on the road.
NC State will then host North Carolina three days later in Raleigh. This is the game that I care about most for the whole season. There’s nothing better than beating UNC as State needs to do this in Raleigh since it has been rough for The Pack over at The Dean Dome the past couple of years. North Carolina has been playing well of lately with wins over Ohio State, UNC-Greensboro plus William and Mary. They played Kentucky close and at times throughout the game UNC looked like they could’ve made it a very close game. I know State fans won’t like this but Carolina will begin to turn it up when ACC play starts. As much as I have grown up disliking The Heels, you can never count them out. Marcus Paige is a great player for them alongside Brice Johnson, JP Tokoto, Justin Jackson and Kennedy Meeks. Johnson has one of the best mid-range game in college basketball with his deadly turn around jumper. Meeks has lost weight and has done a good job of rebounding. Paige’s lay-up for the game winning basket against State last year still haunts me but personally Paige is hard not to like since he is a genuine person. I’ve talked to him in the past and he’s one of the nicest kids I’ve ever met over at Chapel Hill alongside Kennedy Meeks. I think State can win this game but Ralston Turner will need to hit shots from the outside and the bigs will need to play well down low.
Parting Shots: Watching NC State the past couple of games, teams like to press The Pack. This shouldn’t be a problem since Lacey and Barber can handle the ball well but what makes me nervous is how good of defense Duke plays and UNC’s strong press. Both Duke and UNC play great defense so The Pack will need to be ready on offense and not turn the ball over as much from the past couple of games. NC State didn’t hit a three yesterday against Cincinnati as the last time this happened was a few years ago. I’m confident in Lacey and Turner as they will get it together in upcoming ACC play. The two things I would like to see is walk-on Patrick Wallace to get into games to knock down threes as he has shown he can do this. Wallace hit a big time three pointer last season to send NC State into overtime against North Carolina Central. The last thing is I wish Abu could get more minutes. He is physically gifted and has played well in his last couple of games. He can score down low and make the occasional mid-range shot. Right now he looks like the best big man on the floor for The Pack. Hopefully State can make a run in The ACC to improve their resume for March. Go Pack.
Ralston Turner Will Be a Big Factor for NC State in ACC Play
